Political coupd'etats in Koguryo History and Their Historical Significance

In this article, I looked at the aspects of the political coup d'etats that occured in Koguryo history and examined their historical significance. For convenience of understanding, the period before A.D. 300 has been termed the early period and the period after the 6th century has been termed the later period. The period in between has been excluded because records of coup d'etats are unclear. The number of political coup d'etats which occurred are more numerous in the early period compared to the later period. This is due to insufficient records during the later period. This can also be due to royal authority becoming relatively stabilized and the principles of succession to the throne becoming firmly established. In addition, according to the『Suseo(隋書)』 and『Gudangseo(舊唐書)』, strict punishment for treason was imposed and the law was rarely violated. In the early period, political coup d'etats were justified by blood ties and force. In later periods, they were due to real problems such as the ruler being 'too young', 'senile', and 'tyrannous'. During the early period, the leaders of political coup d'etats had a strong blood-related character, whereas the leaders of coup d'etats of the later period had a strong territorial character. In the process of Koguryo's development into a centralized ancient state, King Taejo, King Shindae, and the Changjori coup d'etat, which dealt with the problems of the period, had a positive influence. However, political coup d'etats motivated by power struggles not only caused confusion but also had a negative influence. Examples include the coups of King Minjung, King Chadae, King Anwon, Chugun and Segun, Yeongaesomun, and the coup of the Yeon clan brothers